Children always say, ‘‘I should always eat sweets. I always want to eat chocolate.’’ If you always eat chocolate, you don’t get the taste of chocolate. You don’t get the contrast. But that is a silly desire of children, that they should always have sweets. But as you grow older, you know that it doesn’t matter. We don’t need to have sweets all the time.

In the same way you don’t need to be the same all the time. You can get disturbed for a while. So what? Life is a totality, it has everything in it. Vyasa had written all the eighteen puranas. There is nothing that Vyasa has not touched in the world. Except that the entire world is the leftover — uchchista. Then Vyasa himself became unhappy at one time, after writing all that, giving all the Vedas, the Puranas and Ashtadasha Purana.

He once says after writing the Mahabharata, ‘‘Oh! I am lifting both my arms and crying to people, who by hearing something will get both material and spiritual benefit, but nobody is coming to me. What can I do?’’ The brilliance of Vyasa is unparalleled, because he had made all the principles in a story form in such a way that it gives something to a child, something to a teenager, something to an adult, and something to a sannyasi.

So anybody who reads Vyasa is bound to get something out of it. But Vyasa himself became unhappy. And then Vyasa tells that then the Bhagavatham came and Sukhdeva comes and says, ‘‘Okay all this knowledge is there but something is lacking.’’ What is it? That is the devotional aspect of it. Then the Bhagavatham was created. So every mistake has got something good in it. Every event gives something. So don’t say, ‘‘Always I should be at peace.’’ Doesn’t matter, even if you are disturbed at times.

l The story of Brihaspathi and Chandra

There is a story in the Puranas that Jupiter or Guru was wedded to the star Tara. Star is something that is far away, the whole cosmos. Brihaspathi (Jupiter) is the Guru of the devas. His wife Tara was stolen by Chandra the moon. Stolen means she fled away, went away with Chandra. And then they had a son, Mercury. Now, when Guru found out about this, he told Chandra, ‘‘You better give me back my wife. She is my wife.’’ Then Chandra and Brihaspathi fight and finally all the Devas come and request Chandra, ‘‘You just give her up.’’ So, she was returned back to her husband.

This is the story. On the surface it seems funny but when you look into it in a very subtle way, there is a beautiful sense to it. Guru is the self, Brihaspathi, Devaguru — master of all the gods. That is the self. Moon is the mind. Tara is the universe. So, what happened? Self is the innocent level where everyone was like a child, and the self was connected to the universe. The innocence was one with the infinity.

But as the mind became enlarged, one grew in the mind and the connection between the self and the universe was cut off. But the connection between the mind and the world began. But with this relationship of the mind with the universe, the cosmos expanded and it went to the extent that it gave birth to awareness. Mercury is Budha, is Pragyakaraka — means the bestower of wisdom or awareness. So the mind and the universe went to that extent and they realised and to them was born this awareness of the self back again.

When the awareness of the self was born, then the universe again got united with the self and the mind was removed. The mind became a no-mind. It became detached from the world. So Tara got detached or Chandra got himself detached with Tara. The whole universe was detached from the mind and it was reunited. The universe got united with the self, to which it already belonged.

So in astrology it is said that Mercury is the son of the Moon — that is awareness is born out of the mind only. A mentally retarded person cannot have awareness. So awareness is born out of a mature mind, and from that awareness wisdom develops. Guru is the Self, that who unites with the self. It is a very beautiful story but nobody has understood this meaning in the right way.

There is no absolute value in anything other than the self

Stories like the one on Ekalavya are truly inspiring. Not everybody is cutting their thumb all the time, and what good was it to people who have had their thumb all the time? In the whole of history, one man cuts his thumb, and lets go of his attachment to the skill he had. He is very intelligent. What good does learning archery do? Nothing.

You can look into any situation and be for or against it and both will hold good. Look at the illiterate, innocent people. They are so happy, and have such a smile on their faces. And look at all those who are educated, cultured, and see the amount of tension and stress in their lives. What good is it to go to school?

You can see everything from various angles. This is only to glorify the value of sacrifice. One can have great skills, and attachments to those skills can make one’s life very miserable. Stars, musicians, teachers are all gifted with some talent but they get so obsessed, arrogant and adamant with it that they make their own life miserable. One’s willingness to let go of one’s skills brings them eternal peace and strength.

It is said that the divine is permeating in everything in equal amount. In the wise and the fools. God lives in everything. Eersha Vaasya Edam Sarvam/Yatha Kinchith Jagathyam Jagath/

Tena Tyakthena Bunjitha/

Ma Dhutha Tasya Sidhana

Eersha Vaasya. He lives in everything, it says, because Edam Sarvam, this is what you see. This is all. The Divine lives in the entire world. Do not blame this world, if you want to blame, blame consciously. Yatha Kinchith Jagathyam Jagath, whatever is moving, unmoving, little, small, or big, everywhere, Tena Tathkena Bunjitha, you enjoy this by letting go. Whatever you hold on to creates fear in you. When you create fear you don’t even enjoy it.

If you hold on to your skill, then you are afraid of someone becoming more skillful, then you are afraid of losing your skill. The fear in you will block the happiness. This is exactly what happens with most of the artists. They hold onto their art so tight, always looking if somebody is waiting to pull them down. Only a brave person can say, ‘‘Let go!’’.

Tena Tyakthena Bunjitha Ma Dhutha Tasya Sidhanam. Don’t have grudges, jealousy, hatred, or envy towards anybody. Everything is common property. In another thousand years so many people will come here and go. How can you say, ‘‘Oh! This is my hill, this is my house, my place, my room.’’

The true seeker

Truth always has value but you know what you need is a skill to express truth. We often say we are very honest, very truthful. But why do all these problems come to you? Because you are not skillful.

To bring the best in you, you have to become Arjun. Among so many, only Arjun got the knowledge. Why? What does Arjun mean? One who is thirsty for the truth. The true seeker. You don’t become a seeker just to show off, or to get your way around in the world. You can become a teacher and go on teaching and have nothing inside you. Just build up your own ego. Then it won’t help. The true seeker is Arjun — who wants to know truth.

There are so many gurus, but once you come to Bhagwan, your miseries end. And it’s not through the guru’s

teaching that you get something; that is just superficial. Dronacharya and Kripacharya can teach you archery, but they cannot make you meet yourself. To a sadguru, you just come and just sit. In a silent way everything works. And then, for all the other gymnastics that you want to learn, you have to be with Dronacharya and Kripacharya.